am/is/are + -ing is the present continuous
I’m doing something = I started doing it and haven’t finished; I’m in the middle of doing it.
Sometimes the action is not happening at the time of speaking. For example:
Steve is taling to a friend on the phone. He says: I’m reading a really good book at the moment. Steve says ‘I’m reading…’ , but he is not reading the book at the time of speaking. He means that he has started reading the book, but has not finished it yet. He is in the middle of reading it.
Some more examples:
- Kate wants to work in Italy, so she’s learning Italian
- Some friends of mine are buiding their own house.
You can use the present continuous with today/this week/this year etc.(periods around now):
- You’re working hard today.(not you work hard today)
- The company I work for isn’t doing so well this year
Talk about a change that has started to happen. Often use these verbs in this way: getting, becoming, changing, improving starting, beginning, increasing, rising, falling, growing
- Is your English getting better?(not Does your English get better)
- The population of the world is increasing very fast